By The Book

With Children's Day in Malaysia traditionally celebrated every last Saturday of October, we're dedicating this entire month to what kids and young people are reading. Every week this October, we're doing a Book Club with a different child (or young person!) and asking them to share their current favourite read. This week, we're joined by 17-year-old Arif Iskandar Ridzuan, who's recommending the first book of the Mistborn trilogy, which blends magic, politics and killer storytelling, to tell the tale of a group of thieves and plotters (led by the charismatic Kelsier, but primarily told from the point of view of Vin, an orphan learning about her powers), who are trying to overthrow a government led by a ruler who may also be a god. If it sounds intriguing, that's because it is! Arif explains why this is a book he's enjoyed and how it's contributed to his reading habits.

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With Children's Day in Malaysia traditionally celebrated every last Saturday of October, we're dedicating this entire month to what kids and young people are reading. Every week this October, we're doing a Book Club with a different child, asking them to share with us their current favourite read. Kicking things off, we're joined by 11-year-old Maya Anjali Manalan, whose pick is David Walliams' duology, Gangsta Granny and Gangsta Granny Strikes Again - a pair of wickedly funny books about Ben, who hates having to visit his granny until he discovers a totally unexpected secret about her.

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Set in a newly post-colonial Singapore, The Great Reclamation blends genres (historical fiction, fantastical elements) to tell the story of a country through the choices of one man - Ah Boon. Beginning with his life growing up in a fishing village, blessed with the gift (or curse) of finding islands rich with fish that aren't on the map, and eventually going into his desire to find order and progress, this is a hard novel to summarise. We speak with its author Rachel Heng, discussing the research and themes of the novel, before reviewing it in Footnotes. 

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With the Booker Prize 2023 shortlist just around the corner, we took a spin on the quiz helpfully laid out on the official website, and were recommended a pair of books to explore from the longlist: Jonathan Escoffery's If I Survive You, a novel told through short vignettes, exploring a young man's questions and struggles through familial tensions and questions of identity, and Chetna Maroo's Western Lane, a quiet novel about how an 11 year old girl copes with grief through the punishing rhythms of squash. We review both these books, before getting into the larger value of book quizzes in Footnotes. 

Image Credit: Goodreads

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With 2023 marking the 60th year since the formation of the Federation of Malaysia, its complex connection with Singapore over the decades feels ever more relevant to examine. The Second Link, an anthology featuring short stories by writers from both countries, engages with and unpacks this entwined relationship. We speak with three of the editors of the book.  

Image Credit: Lit Books

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We continue our spotlight on local bookstores by looking at a crowd favourite this week - BookXcess, popular for their affordable books, unique store concepts, and of course the Big Bad Wolf book fair. We hear from them about why making books as widely accessible as possible is an integral part of their approach, and how they keep their approach to bookselling fresh. 

Image Credit: BookXcess

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For the last 18 years, Readings KL has been running (almost) every month - featuring 6 readers each time, and a dedicated community of literary enthusiasts. We speak to its long-time organiser Sharon Bakar, and current host Sumitra Selvaraj, about the joys and challenges of keeping it all running, and the value of having a space for readers and writers to come together. And then on Footnotes, we discuss our own experiences with reading events.

Image Credit: Readings KL/ Facebook

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The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin, the first in the Broken Earth series, created a sensation when it came out in 2015, including getting a Hugo Award. Set on a planet with a single supercontinent called the Stillness, the inhabitants face a "fifth season" of catastrophic climate change - amidst which, we are introduced to three female characters each undertaking a journey of their own. We discuss the book's absorbing worldbuilding, the social commentary it weaves in, and how much we loved the characters. We close off with Footnotes, where we discuss a proposed boycott by authors of the Edinburgh Book Festival as a way to protest against a sponsor who has links to fossil fuel companies. 

Image Credit: Goodreads

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A newly opened bookshop in Damansara Kim, Sunda Shelves is a cosy space that celebrates nature and conservation, and mixes fiction and non-fiction, as well as new and secondhand books. We discuss the inspiration for the bookshop, how it came to be, and the community it's building. 

Image Credit: Sunda Shelves / Facebook

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With AI-generated content and ChatGPT creating anxiety in various industries, we discuss how it might potentially change books - from the potential for books written entirely by AI to what this means for how people in the publishing field are paid for their work. We close off the conversation by discussing AI and robots in fiction, and how these themes have evolved.

Image Credit: 123rf.com

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